Installation: The old furnace is disconnected from the ductwork plenum, exhaust flue, gas and electrical hookups. In most cases, a new plenum must be made onsite or ordered from a local sheet metal fabricator. A new vent might be required too. The furnace is set and reconnected. Adjustments to the blower fan speed and burner are made to optimize furnace performance for your home and climate.
Prices for central-air HVAC systems will vary. The national average to hire an HVAC specialist is $2,920-$3,670 but can run as high as $5,000 or even $12,000 depending on the capacity you need and other factors. Installing central air conditioning requires an entire system that works together to draw hot air out of your home. The system includes an outdoor unit, which houses the condenser and compressor, and the evaporator coils. If you don’t have an existing duct system, ductwork will need to be installed, which will affect labor and material costs. Leaking or damaged ducts will also need to be replaced.
Don Vandervort has developed his expertise for more than 30 years, as Building Editor for Sunset Books, Senior Editor at Home Magazine, author of more than 30 home improvement books, and writer of countless magazine articles. He appeared for 3 seasons on HGTV’s “The Fix,” and served as MSN’s home expert for several years. Don founded HomeTips in 1996.
AC units and thermostats have built-in delay features when they're shut down and then repowered. The delay can be as long as 10 minutes. And, if you've subscribed to an energy-saving device from your local power utility, the unit can take even longer to reset. If you've installed the parts shown and reinstalled the disconnect block, repowered the circuit breaker, turned on the switch at the furnace, moved the thermostat to AC mode and lowered the temperature below the indoor temperature, and the unit doesn't fire up after 30 minutes, it's time to call a pro.
1). Busy companies: The company is so busy, it doesn’t need the work. It will add 70% to 100% profit, and if the customer accepts the estimate, it will move that high-margin customer to the front of the line. This often happens in the worst heat of summer when overburdened ACs and heat pumps quit and the dead of winter when furnaces give up. This is a good reason to consider pre-emptively replacing your system once it’s about 15 years old and/or has had major repairs.
When central air conditioning service fails during a heat spell, you may have to wait days for an HVAC repair technician or an ac contractor to show up, and you'll probably pay at least several hundred for the repair. But if you're comfortable working around electricity and are willing to spend about $50 on parts, you can probably repair your air conditioning service yourself in about two hours and save about $225 on parts markup and labor.
Natural ventilation is the ventilation of a building with outside air without using fans or other mechanical systems. It can be via operable windows, louvers, or trickle vents when spaces are small and the architecture permits. In more complex schemes, warm air is allowed to rise and flow out high building openings to the outside (stack effect), causing cool outside air to be drawn into low building openings. Natural ventilation schemes can use very little energy, but care must be taken to ensure comfort. In warm or humid climates, maintaining thermal comfort solely via natural ventilation might not be possible. Air conditioning systems are used, either as backups or supplements. Air-side economizers also use outside air to condition spaces, but do so using fans, ducts, dampers, and control systems to introduce and distribute cool outdoor air when appropriate.
Typically speaking, the lower SEER, more basic models are also more reliable. Reliability is big with us, so we steer clear of features with reliability issues, and it’s as simple as that. When you factor in the price of repairs and the extra expense of the 21-SEER, you may actually lose money! 16 SEER is the sweet-spot, and it is key to reducing your HVAC installation cost.
Clean air delivery rate is the amount of clean air an air cleaner provides to a room or space. When determining CADR, the amount of airflow in a space is taken into account. For example, an air cleaner with a flow rate of 100 cfm (cubic feet per minute) and an efficiency of 50% has a CADR of 50 cfm. Along with CADR, filtration performance is very important when it comes to the air in our indoor environment. Filter performance depends on the size of the particle or fiber, the filter packing density and depth and also the air flow rate.[30]
SEER is useful for comparing one model to another much in the same way that a car's calculate MPG is useful. It's not an accurate prediction of exactly how efficient the system is, but it can tell you which one is more efficient. Also, since SEER is based on a "cooling season", what region you live in will determine how long or short your cooling season is.
We hope you found this article on a fair HVAC installation cost helpful. In the end, you’ll be alright so don’t worry too much. Do your research on reputable air conditioning contractors in your area, and spend time making sure that you have a company that you can trust – it will cost you less in the long-run, trust me. Take your time, follow the tips above, and you will end up with an HVAC installation cost that is more than reasonable, keeping your family comfortable for years to come. For more on topics like this, see: ASM’s Air Conditioning Blog.

You might also want to check your home for thermal insulation if you live in extreme heat or freezing temperatures. Insulation keeps the heat and cool air in your home, which can lead to a lower electric bill. If the heated or cool air leaks out, your system turns on more often. There are various types of insulation that you can install in your home and a home energy auditor can point out the best places for it in your house.

Though this installation is not always complicated, it's best to work with an air conditioning contractor to ensure it's done correctly. Permits are usually required for this type of work and can be obtained by a state-licensed contractor. You should not attempt to install central air conditioning on your own since you need a license to handle the refrigerant chemicals (Freon) involved.
Our HVAC Ductwork Installation Cost Guide is the most comprehensive guide of its type. It fully explains the purpose of ductwork and all your options. Pricing is included for all duct types and plenums/drops too. Material and installation costs are listed. Ductwork cost varies greatly by the size and type of duct plus the complexity of the installation, but you can expect to pay $10.20 to $17.25 per linear foot installed.
Duct system installation and repairs affect HVAC installation cost. If you’re installing a new forced air heating or cooling system, your home must have ductwork – if you don’t have ducts installed, a new duct system will need to be designed and installed. Your existing duct system may require air sealing to eliminate air loss, helping your new heating and cooling system operate efficiently.

Whether you’re looking for air conditioning maintenance, air conditioner repair, or a new air conditioning system, Sears Home Services can help. We’re your best, most-trusted option for fast, quick, and easy local service, repair, and maintenance of your home air conditioning system. If your air conditioner isn’t cooling or your central air conditioner is leaking water, we’ll connect you to the best local AC repair service technicians in the business.We have local technicians in your neighborhood that are highly trained, licensed, vetted, and guaranteed to help fix all of your air conditioning needs.

Be careful with HVAC change-outs. Change-outs are only about 15-20% of the HVAC installation industry. Decrease HVAC installation cost by investing in new ductwork now if needed. Your ducts wear out too, and make sure that your ducts are in fantastic shape if you do this. Many contractors push this because it’s easy and cheap for them, with good pay-off. Do your research and replace them if you need to in order to avoid doing it later, as well as avoid potential health hazards from using old, broken ductwork.
Because an air conditioner moves heat between the indoor coil and the outdoor coil, both must be kept clean. This means that, in addition to replacing the air filter at the evaporator coil, it is also necessary to regularly clean the condenser coil. Failure to keep the condenser clean will eventually result in harm to the compressor, because the condenser coil is responsible for discharging both the indoor heat (as picked up by the evaporator) and the heat generated by the electric motor driving the compressor.

If you hear clicking that is followed by a hum or buzz, you’re probably hearing the fan motor attempting to start without the boost it needs from the capacitor. You can almost always conclude that the capacitor has failed. Sometimes you can get the compressor fan spinning (clockwise) by pushing it with a thin stick or long screwdriver poked through the grille. But the chances are good that this might work for one cycle, but the capacitor will fail next time the AC goes on. It’s best to replace the capacitor.